We got a reasonable quantity of sleep and set out once again Sunday morning for what we thought would be our last day with the family. We went to Disneyland, because Ben hadn’t yet spent enough sleepless hours in a car and at amusement parks. Fortunately Disneyland is only a 20 minute drive instead of a 90 minute drive, so that was good. It’s also very familiar, which was much needed after three days of the unknown. One of my very good friends, who has cancer, was going to be having a birthday party that afternoon, which I absolutely could not miss. So we knew we were only going to have a few precious hours to play, and we needed them to count. We did a surprising amount of Disneyland in just four short hours. The kids, of course, had a great time, and Matt and I actually got to go on a big kid ride (it’s been a while) while Grammie took the kiddos to the petting zoo (I have been a Disneyland passholder for many years, and somehow I never knew there was a petting zoo). 
After having lunch in Toontown, we said our good-byes and went home. It was a bittersweet end to a bittersweet weekend. We were so sad to leave our family, but we were so. very. exhausted. And for an introvert like me…well, by my count it had been a solid two weeks since I’d had any free time of any kind. I lost it in the car on the way home. Well, I almost did. I sat on the brink and managed to keep myself together until we got home, when I put Ben down for his first nap in three days then holed myself up in my room. I missed my friend’s party. I felt horrible, but I was so tired and so in need of a break from the human race. So I took a nap and read my book instead. One can only do so much.To be continued…
The chaos continued upon our return from San Diego on Sunday. Our friends, who were in Africa in the process of adopting a little boy, got stuck because of the volcano. So on Tuesday afternoon I picked up their daughter Adalee, Ben’s very best friend, from our friends who’d had her since Sunday. The poor little girl had been shifted from house to house for two weeks and was pretty much done. I think it was good for her, though, to finish off her world tour at our place. We’re her second home and her second family, and she’s very comfortable with us.
But comfortable or no, twins are hard. Let me tell you. These two midgets together are work. They’re one, so they’re not great at sharing. And when I say not great, I mean one minute they’re hugging and kissing and the next Adalee has taken the ball from Ben, who has subsequently thrown himself face first onto the couch and is screaming like she ripped his arm off. Once I get him calmed down, he steals whatever she has and we do the whole thing over again in reverse.
It’s a good thing they’re so freakin’ cute. And they love each other so very much.
Happily, Jesse was able to hitch a ride home and landed in LAX late Thursday morning. Now both parents are home safe and sound, and Adalee has her family back. Now all we need is for her Ghanian brother Samuel to come home and they’ll be all set!
In the meantime, Ben is letting her practice sisterhood with him. And man is he giving her a run for her money. And Adalee was gracious enough to allow us to see what having two kids is like. Hmmmmm……
So I said before that we believed Disneyland to be our last stop on the Family Fun Train. But since Carl was in the hospital for the entire week they were supposed to be down, he missed out on all the fun. Thankfully he’s all patched up and should be good to go home on Tuesday. But they had the weekend to kill and Megan was out of town, so they asked us if we would come back down on Saturday for another round of the zoo. It was a tough call, to be honest, because it was the same day as my best friend’s bridal shower (whose wedding I’m in in June) and a birthday party for one of Ben’s little friends. But we needed to save Sunday so that we could have at least one day of rest out of the month of April. But we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to squeeze in more time with our family, and at Ben’s favorite place no less, so back to San Diego we went.This trip was pretty nice. There wasn’t much traffic, so the drive wasn’t so bad. And the weather was perfect. It was also really nice to just have it be our little threesome and the parents; a first, I believe. We usually at least have Megan with us whenever they come and visit. So while we love the big family, it was nice for Ben to have some focused time with his Grammie and Grandpa Carl. We hit most of the favorites, and Ben was spoiled rotten, of course (that’s what grandmas are for, right?). Obviously he didn’t sleep at all. He was a total wreck at one point, hanging off the side of his stroller and screaming bloody murder. He’s a real peach when he doesn’t sleep. But we had a great time, and we went to a nice, early dinner afterwards at O’Brother’s (best friggin’ burgers ever—everything is organic and ridiculously delicious). Ben slept on the way home and went to bed (almost) without a fight.
To our wonderful family, Bev, Carl, Scott, Becki, Fynley, Megan, and Alex—thank you for a crazy, fun-filled weekend. We are so glad you came down!To my bed: we will be reunited someday, I promise. Until then, I will think about you as often as I can, which is pretty much all the time at this point.
Sweet Benjamin took a while to warm up to Legoland. I think he was just really overwhelmed by the whirlwind of the last 36 hours, and ridiculously tired. I’m sure waking up to Legoland was probably rough. 
But once he came around he had the time of his life (for the first half, anyway). A good chunk of Legoland is perfect for an almost-two-year-old. One area in particular was fantastic. There were water activities and a big play area that was filled with duplo blocks (the big legos for little guys). There was also a little train (have I mentioned his current obsession with locomotives?). He was in heaven. And he got to ride the train with just Fynley, no parents. So so cute.
For the rest of the day we wandered around the park, which I’d never been to. It’s pretty cool. There are a lot of rides for little kids, and there are a lot of interactive things for little ones to do. The only thing was, and to be fair it’s labeled as a park for kids 2-12, was that he was still too small to ride most of the rides, even with a parent or big kid. So we waited in a lot of lines with a toddler who couldn't even go on them (Fynley could, so we did the rides with her). There ended up being only a couple of things he could do besides build with the legos. But he still really enjoyed doing that.
Fast forward a few hours, after lunch (which was hectic, but pretty good). Nap time? Let’s not kid ourselves. Ben didn’t sleep at all that day. That’s right—not a wink. The family wanted to stay at the park until it closed at 5:00, but Ben was losing his mind. He wanted to be held at all times, didn’t want to do anything, didn’t want to do nothing—the poor little boy was just miserable. And when a small child is miserable, so are his parents. So the last few hours of our time there were not exactly the best. But the first half of the day was pretty dang cool.After the park closed we went to dinner, during which Ben spent a large chunk of half asleep in my arms. Then we made the long journey home to Orange County, hopefully for sleep (but not, of course, before having to go back to our super awesome hotel where I’d left Ben’s almost finished blanket that I’ve been knitting for about 453 years).To be continued...
After having lunch in Toontown, we said our good-byes and went home. It was a bittersweet end to a bittersweet weekend. We were so sad to leave our family, but we were so. very. exhausted. And for an introvert like me…well, by my count it had been a solid two weeks since I’d had any free time of any kind. I lost it in the car on the way home. Well, I almost did. I sat on the brink and managed to keep myself together until we got home, when I put Ben down for his first nap in three days then holed myself up in my room. I missed my friend’s party. I felt horrible, but I was so tired and so in need of a break from the human race. So I took a nap and read my book instead. One can only do so much.
